Lutheranism is a strong force in
South Carolina. The Columbia area, alone, is represented by churches
from every major Lutheran synod, as well as a Lutheran seminary.

The question is sure to arise
-- how are these groups different?

Lutherans, like most religious organizations,
can be placed into three general groups

Liberal
or Progressive, such as the
Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America(ELCA) -
visit
website

Moderate,
such as the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod(LCMS) -
visit
website

Confessional,
such as the Church of the Lutheran Confession (CLC) -
visit
website

The Liberal, or Progressive Lutherans
believe that it is important that the church changes with the times in
order to continue attracting members. Progressive Lutherans proclaim that
God's Word is no longer relevant to today's believer and allow people to
decide for themselves what is or isn't God-pleasing. (Are
these words blasphemous? Click
to read a letter from a reader).

The website Exposing
the ELCA, exists to inform and expose the teachings, actions and
beliefs of the ELCA.

The Confessional
Lutherans follow the Lord's command to "speak My Word faithfully" (Jer.
23:28) and teach the world "all things which I [Jesus] have commanded you"
(Matt. 28:28). Confessional Lutherans realize that although God's Will
isn't always the most exciting option to our sinful nature, it is definately
what people need at this time of moral decline. Confessional Lutherans
teach that people are sinful, and without Christ's redemptive work we would
have no hope of eternal life. These scriptural truths were
confessed by most Lutherans up until the breakup of the Lutheran Synodical
Conference in the early 1960s.

The Moderate Lutherans are
torn between following the confession of their Lutheran ancestors and relinquishing
God's teachings to make their churches more palatable to current and potential
members. They therefore publicly confess that they follow God's Word,
but in practice allow their pastors and people to decide for themselves
which teachings they want to follow, and which they want to ignore.

Both the Progressive and Moderate
Lutherans are currently finding themselves in danger of alienating many
of their members. Although the synodical leaders and many of the
pastors are comfortable ignoring (or even denying) many of the teachings
of the Bible, the people in the pew remember the catechetical training
of their youth which taught them that the entire Bible is inspired by God
(2 Timothy 3:16), and that holy men of God spoke as they were moved by
the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:21). These concerned Christians realize
that the "cafeteria" approach to God's Word (take what you want, leave
what you don't). is not God pleasing and is dangerious to their eternity.

It doesn't take much research online
to see the deep schisms dividing these organizations. Many members
of these organizations (pastors and laypeople alike) are standing up and
speaking against the erroring pastors and the synodical leaders.
Many pastors, however, afraid to bring the controversies to their congregations,
remain quiet - hoping that their members will not find out about the cancer
which is slowly destroying their "beloved" church body. Many members,
knowing about the error being taught by other pastors in their organization
and supported by the synodical leadership turn a blind eye -- thinking
that as long as their pastor teaches the truth they don't have to worry
about what is happening in their sister churches.

What is the purpose of this website?

My hope, through this website, is
to encourage many of the Liberal and Moderate Lutherans to pull their heads
out of the proverbial "ostrich hole". It does not work to ignore
the error taught by fellow pastors and supported by synodical leaders.
Pretending that error isn't there doesn't make it go away. Saying
that those errors don't represent you or that you don't support those errors
is negated by your membership in that organization. These errors
are a direct affront to our God who showed His love for us by sacrificing
His Son for our eternal salvation.

I hope through this website to encourage
members of the erring church bodies to get up from their slumbers and stand
up for Jesus. Are there any real men in these churches who
will stand with Joshua and say “as for me and my house, we will serve the
LORD,” and then leave the “house” of error in order to obey and keep their
Savior’s word?

Is the error in these church bodies really that
bad?

Don't take my word for it.
Listen to many of the pastors and laypeople within these church bodies
who are beginning to realize the distance their synod has fallen from the
truth. Dozens of websites have been created by individuals within
these organizations decrying the error being taught by many pastors and
supported by synodical leadership. I list several of them at the
bottom of this website.

The errorists defend their teachings
by saying their actions come from love. Such fine sounding words
are in complete contradiction to what Lutheran have always believed - love
the sinner but hate the sin.

Denying even one small truth portrayed
in Scripture raises the concern that we can therefore trust nothing in
Scripture - even Christ's sacrifice for our sins - so the error in these
church bodies IS really that bad!

What got me interested in developing this website?

This website will be a document in
progress. It was started late January 2005 after I was approached
by several families concerned about the error within their church body.
Although they felt their pastor still taught true Scripture as confessed
by the Lutheran Confessions - they could no longer allow themselves to
show support for their erring church body through their membership.

What about the CLC?

I've spent some time discussing the
Liberal and Moderate branches of Lutheranism. I guess it is to be
expected that as a member of the CLC (Church of the Lutheran Confession)
I would speak favorably of it - and I do!

You will not find dozens of dissenting
views by CLC pastors and members on the Internet. I challenge you
to find any. Although we do occasionally find ourselves in conflict
over one or more doctrines in the Bible, our differences are resolved on
the basis of Scripture -- "What does God say?" Never do we allow
ourselves the luxury of saying "Let's agree to disagree".

We consider ourselves to be true
confessional Lutherans - still believing and teaching the Scriptural truths
as taught and confessed by Martin Luther and by the many confessional Lutherans
unknowingly trapped in their erring church bodies. We are blessed
to have the fellowship of which the Apostle Paul speaks in I Cor 1:10,
speaking the same thing without divisions among us. A wonderful benefit
of this fellowship is our confidence that we will hear the same teachings
from all our pastors, whether they be in South Carolina, Virginia, Texas,
the Dakotas, California or overseas. VISIT
CLC WEBSITE

Some information about me...

I am Glenn Oster, a retired pastor
of the CLC (Church of the Lutheran Confession). I live in West
Columbia, South Carolina and am a member of Holy Trinity Evangelical Lutheran
Church - CLC in West Columbia (see
website). I left the full-time ministry
several years ago to pursue secular interests but still assist CLC congregations
where needed -- I am currently serving a congregation in the Fairfax, Virginia
area on a monthly basis. I work full-time as a business analyst for
NCR Corporation and own an Internet Hosting Company.

If you have questions about what
I believe, or would like to have a "sounding board" for your concerns,
please feel free to contact me at goster@CLClutheran.com
or 803-361-2739. or visit the CLC's website.

What Pastors and Laypeople are saying about
their synod

The following links were found after just a short
search through the Internet. I'm sure you can find much more.

A Comparison
of Teachings"Test the spirits whether
they are of God; because many false prophets
have gone out into the world."(1 John 4:1).

From its beginning, The CLC has been
determined to teach only what is "of God," that is, teachings that are
recorded in the BIBLE, which is GOD'S WORD. We call ourselves Lutheran
because we hold to the historic Lutheran teachings. The BIBLE is the only
source for these teachings.

Below are some examples of what the
Bible teaches, in contrast to the errors that are taught by many of today’s
“liberal" and "moderate" churches.

The Way to Heaven

Bible Teaching All
people are sinners. Jesus, therefore, out of merciful love, came to earth
and suffered and died in our place, taking our sins upon himself. Faith
in this saving work of Jesus is the only way to heaven. Those who
refuse to confess and repent of their sins are not living in this faith,
and upon death are eternally lost in hell.

False Teaching God did
not really mean that repentance and faith in Jesus is the only way to heaven
- People can believe whatever and act however they wish and God will still
bless them with eternity in heaven. Sincere followers of non-Christian
religions may get to heaven, even without believing in Jesus.

"All have
sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus." Romans 3:23,24.

For by grace
you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the
gift of God, not of works lest anyone should boast" Ephesians
2:8-9.

"Therefore
being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus
Christ" Romans 5:1.

"The gift
of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" Romans
6:23.

"Therefore
repent and convert so that your sins may be blotted out" Acts
3:19.

"I am the
Way, the Truth, and the Life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Because I live, you shall live also" John 14:6.

"God so loved
the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in
Him should not perish but have eternal life" John 3:16.

Inspiration of the Bible

Bible Teaching The
Bible is the inspired Word of God in its entirety, without error or contradiction.

False Teaching The
Bible is a book written by fallible men and therefore subject to error.

"All Scripture
is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof,
for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may
be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work"
1 Timothy 3:16.

"When you
received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as
the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God" 1 Thessalonians
2:13.

"Holy men
of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit" 2 Peter
1:21.

Creation of the World

Bible Teaching The one almighty
and Triune God created the world and everything in it, including man, in
six ordinary days.

False Teaching All things
have come into being by a process of evolution. Man has evolved from
lower forms of life.

"In the beginning
God created the heavens and the earth" Genesis 1:1.

"For in six
days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is
in them, and rested on the seventh day" Exodus 20:11.

"For by Him
all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible
and invisible" Colossians 1:16.

"By faith
we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the
things which are seen were not made of things which are visible"
Hebrews 11:3.

False Beliefs & Alternative Lifestyles are not pleasing to God

Bible Teaching Every teaching
in the Bible is important. Therefore Christians should stand up for
the Truth (and not tolerate error). Although God shows His love to
sinners (John 3:16), He also hates sin and tells us that willingly following
error and living in sin is a tool of Satan to take away our faith.

False Teaching The Bible
teachings are either unclear, unimportant, or not valid for our day and
age. Following God's Word is a matter of preference. God does
not care what we believe or the lifestyle we choose to live.

"Do not be
carried about with various and strange doctrines" Hebrews 13:9.

"There will
be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies"
2 Peter 2:1.

"Teach no
other doctrine" 1 Timothy 1:3.

"And in vain
they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men"
Matthew 15:9.